Fansided

North Carolina basketball: Ranking the 27 best Tar Heels of all time

By Cody Williams

CHAPEL HILL, NC - 1983: Michael Jordan #23 of the North Carolina Tar Heels sits in the huddle against the Clemson Tigers circa 1983 in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 1983 NBAE (Photo by Anthony Neste/NBAE via Getty Images)
CHAPEL HILL, NC - 1983: Michael Jordan #23 of the North Carolina Tar Heels sits in the huddle against the Clemson Tigers circa 1983 in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 1983 NBAE (Photo by Anthony Neste/NBAE via Getty Images) /
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North Carolina’s Ty Lawson cuts a piece of the net after the Tar Heels defeated Michigan State 89-72 in the NCAA Men’s Basketball Championship at Ford Field in Detroit, Michigan, on Monday, April 6, 2009. (Photo by Harry E. Walker/MCT/MCT via Getty Images)
North Carolina’s Ty Lawson cuts a piece of the net after the Tar Heels defeated Michigan State 89-72 in the NCAA Men’s Basketball Championship at Ford Field in Detroit, Michigan, on Monday, April 6, 2009. (Photo by Harry E. Walker/MCT/MCT via Getty Images) /

12. Ty Lawson (2006-09)

If you blinked when Ty Lawson was running the point for the Tar Heels from 2006-2009, you’d have probably missed him getting from one end to the other. Perhaps one of the fastest point guards that college basketball has ever seen, Lawson was electric from the moment he stepped foot on campus and ended his career in Chapel Hill the way you hope every prized player does: cutting down the nets.

In his first season with North Carolina, Lawson played only 25.7 minutes per game but still managed to show off what he had to offer. The guard averaged 10.2 points, 5.6 assists, 2.9 rebounds and 1.5 steals per game as a freshman. He followed up that campaign with an improved sophomore year, averaging 12.7 points, 5.2 assists and 1.6 steals per game.

Lawson then flirted with the idea of entering the 2008 NBA Draft but elected to return with teammates Tyler Hansbrough, Danny Green and Wayne Ellington. That turned out to be a wise decision as the point guard went on to earn ACC Player of the Year honors as a junior — the first at his position to do so since Phil Ford in 1978 — in addition to being a Consensus second-team All-American.

While he was dominant in averaging 16.6 points, 6.6 assists, 3.0 rebounds and 2.1 steals per game on 53.2 percent overall shooting and 47.2 percent 3-point shooting, Lawson also helped lead the way to the fifth title in UNC basketball history, thus helping etch his name in Carolina history as an all-timer.